Can Republicans flip Colorado?
Brauchler and others say they can at annual Morgan County GOP dinner
Colorado’s state government, controlled by a Democrat governor and with Democrat majorities in both the House and Senate, does not have to stay that way, Morgan County Republicans were told Monday, Feb. 15, during their annual Lincoln Day Dinner.
Keynote speaker George Brauchler, formerly district attorney in the 18th Judicial District, projected an optimistic view for Republicans in the midterm elections, based upon their work ethic.
“I’m bullish on 2022,” he said. “I’m not telling you we’re going to return to the Colorado we all grew up in, but we can return to a Colorado that is a lot different than we have now.”
With effort, he predicted statewide seats can be flipped for Republicans and didn’t rule out the possibility in the governor’s race, although he indicated it could be a chore.
“The governor can reach into his couch and find $20 million,” Brauchler said.
In theor y, he said Republicans could work hard to lose by less in Boulder and Denver and by focusing on rural electors in all other areas of Colorado could flip state leadership.
“We are leaving votes on the table. We cannot write off rural ,” Brauchler said. “I expect a lot better turnout in 2022.”
The legislature, he says, is unwilling to hold the governor accountable, a position shared by state Sen. Jerry Sonnenberg, R-Sterling, and state Rep. Rod Pelton, R-Cheyenne Wells.
“We’re in the fight of our lives,” Sonnenberg said.
He plans to a file a bill he hopes might gain bipar tisan support. Sonnenberg has learned when a motorist applies for a driver’s license the state is selling the personal information provided, and he aims to stop the practice.
“We’re in a fight, but it’s a fight worth having,” Pelton said. “We haven’t changed. The Front Range has changed.”
He’s looking to work with Gov. Jared Polis on mental health, he said, specifically related to the suicide rate among agricultural producers, and believes the legislature is beginning to awaken to the crisis.
U.S. Rep. Ken Buck, R-Greeley, who will soon end his ser vice as the chairman of the Colorado Republican Par ty, began the night discussing federal level politics, following an eventful day in the district where he met with many business owners and community leaders.
“The more power we get out of Washington, and into the state of Colorado, the better,” Buck said. “And, the more Republicans we can get in the state legislature the better.”
As a former district attorney, Buck said he’s confused as to the process House Speaker Nancy
Pelosi used in the second attempted impeachment of President Donald J. Trump.
“They are going to investigate after he was charged and tried ?” Buck asked. “That’s not the way it worked in my of fice.”
He voiced his opposition toward the Jan. 6 infiltration of the U.S. Capitol by a mob and toward the role President Trump might have played, but called for Washington to get past political show trials and scoring political points.
“Who was doing the rioting all summer long and who funded the riots?” Buck asked. “Police were killed in those riots, citizens were killed and buildings were burned.”
Buck was also critical of the fence that has been erected around the capitol, saying the national guardsmen behind the fence are there for no purpose, except for Democrat fundraising.
He also noted the presence of former U.S. Sen. Cor y Gardner, R-Yuma, at the dinner.
“The best U.S. senator in the histor y of Colorado is Cor y Gardner,” said Buck, to applause from the audience. “Politics is a fickle game. In spite of all he did for Colorado – things many people don’t know he did to keep America strong – to not re-elect him says something bad about Colorado. I predict Cor y will be back.”
Gardner, as he had during his time as U.S. senator, then addressed Republicans at the annual dinner.
“It has been an honor, pleasure and blessing to ser ve,” Gardner said. “We can’t let this countr y go the direction it is going. We can’t let this state go the way it is going.”
And he was followed by an option Republicans could have in the second regard, as Greg Lopez discussed his desire to earn the par ty’s nomination for governor.
“It is not about the title, it is about caring for all of Colorado,” said Lopez, who was previously a candidate for governor in the 2018 primar y. “But, we’re not going to win if we just get the Republican vote. We must take 18 percent of the Democratic vote.”
There are registered Democrats, he said, looking for alternatives to Gov. Jared Polis, citing the endorsement he has received from the head of LULAC in Denver.
“Gov. Polis is afraid and scared I will get the nomination,” Lopez said. “He has turned his back on rural Colorado. What he is saying is your voices don’t matter. He understands he only needs to focus on 23 counties to win election. I’ll focus on all of them.”
Kristi Burton Brown, the Colorado Republican Party vice-chair and candidate to become the par ty chair, discussed progress being made in Denver that could assist statewide Republican candidates in successful elections, including a youthful roster of volunteers.
Also noted were Commissioners Mark Arndt, Jon Becker and Gordon Westhof f, Clerk and Recorder Susan Bailey, Treasurer Bob Sagel, Assessor Tim Amen, Coroner Don Heer and Sherif f Dave Mar tin, all elected in Morgan County from the Republican roster.
Additionally, the Morgan County Republicans announced the 2021 Central Committee of ficers: Dusty Johnson, chair woman; Jacob McFadden, vicechairman; Wes Cable, secretary; and Vivianne Lorenzini, treasurer.
With the officers hailing from Brush, Fort Morgan, Wiggins and Weldona, the geographic makeup is diversified in such a way, Morgan County party Chair woman Johnson said, to represent the whole of the county.